Uncharted Waters
by juno57
Summary: Expansion on scenes as Nathan and Elena work together to find Sir Francis Drake's treasure in Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. NatexElena. TEMPORARILY ON HAITUS- SORRY! Will be back after I recover from Assassin's Creed :P
1. From Small Beginnings

I wanted to flesh out Nate and Elena's relationship based on events from the first game. Naughty Dog owns all characters and everything Uncharted- not me. Read, rate, review! Oh, and enjoy; that's good too :3

UNCHARTED WATERS- Chapter 1

Elena Fisher Electronic Diary

Day 1

07:42 hrs

Provisions, check. Fuel, check. Sunscreen SPF 45, check. E-tronic v20 waterproof high-definition video camera with real-time satellite broadcast capabilities, check.

I am sitting on board my company's boat, _The Sure Stead, _in my bunk, which, by the way Mr. Thompson, is much smaller than you lead me to believe. I can't even stand up in this dingy hole without banging my head off of the ribbing.

Thank God I remembered to bring my ginger pills, or the walls of my "cabin" would have had a green texture motif by now. At least I only have to spend 8 hours in here, when I sleep. Above deck, the salt air assails my senses with an altogether pleasurable menagerie of seaweed, gasoline, and ocean air.

Presently, we are en route to our dive site, some 200 knots of the coast of Panama. My guide for this expedition, a Mr. Nathan Drake, claims to have found the location for our dive, by an inscription on Sir Frances Drake's ring, which perpetually hangs from his neck on a leather cord. I can always tell when he's concentrated on something, as he has a tendency to flip and twist the metal band around and around in his fingertips.

I think it's cute.

Elena Fisher shook her head, _Unprofessional_, she thought. She deleted her last comment from the transcript, and sat up in her bunk. Sitting up too fast, she was rewarded with a painful lesson: steel girders win hands down over bone every time. Rubbing her head, she gingerly ducked under the offending metal beam, and stood up. Through the years of grime and oxidization, she could make out the serene blue of the ocean from her small porthole. Elena slipped her laptop onto the makeshift desk of her suitcase, and grabbed her coffee mug. She walked up the warped metal staircase into the hallway. _You think with all his money Mr. Thompson could've sprung for a dive boat from this century!_ She made her way through the dim hallways, carefully avoiding the rusty nails, which protruded along certain sections of the floor.

_Gotta fix those_, Elena thought as she stepped over a particularly nasty rivet. _When was my last tetanus shot?_

Breathing in a calming wave of the ocean's fragrance, Elena walked across the deck, over to where her partner was busy suiting up for today's dive.

"Hey Elena." Nate smiled and glanced over at her from where he was sitting on a cargo container.

"Morning Mr. Drake. Are you uh, all ready to go?" Elena asked, examining what she guessed to be a tangled mess of respirator tubes.

Nate snorted and smirked at her, "Yeah, just as soon as I get these damn things untangled–here, help me with these would ya?"

Elena blinked, surprised for a moment, she wouldn't be much help with untangling the tubes, after all, she had already attempted 3 times– the jumbled mess that Nate was struggling with _was_ her best effort. She sighed, and knelt down beside him.

"This looks pretty hopeless," Elena offered, "I've already tried to–"

"I know, I know, look, I just need another pair of hands. Here, if you slip that tube out from under the green one, that should loosen things up a bit."

"Why don't you just unplug them," Elena offered, pulling the tubes out of the oxygen tanks with a sharp hiss.

"No, no, no, would'ya no, uh, aw crap!" Nate slumped a little, and tossed the mess of tubes aside, quickly turning a dial on the O2 tanks, stopping the hissing noise. "No, ya see, we can't do that because your boss here, let us use these pieces of crap from the 1800's! The O2 tubes can't be unplugged, or all the oxygen escapes." Nate sighed, and pushed his hair back. His hair, plus the frustration on his face made him look like a four year old.

A cute four year-old Elena thought.

She cleared her throat, "Well, they're unplugged now, that should make things easier."

Elena started to untangle the tubes with efficiency.

"Yeah, well, uh…but the tank is…" Nate started, watching Elena solve the tangled heap in a matter of minutes.

"There you are Mr. Drake, good as new!" Elena smiled at him, proud that the _fourth_ time was a charm.

"Yeah, well," he cleared his throat, and stood up, "thanks for that Elena."

"Don't worry about it –"

"That whole 'Mr. Drake' business has gotta stop. Makin' me sound like an old man, or some creepy guy."

"Then, is Nate ok, or do you prefer Nathan?"

"Whatever floats your boat sunshine, just don't call me Shirley." Nate smirked at his own joke.

"Shirley? Is there something I should know about you Nate?" Elena inquired with a smirk on her face.

"Y'know, from _Airplane_," Nate offered, his hands out. "'Stop calling me Shirley'", Elena stared back at him with a blank expression. Nate sighed, walking towards Elena who looked mildly amused. "Nate's fine. Drake, when there's something wrong, or you're mad at me." Nate said with mirth.

Elena chuckled, smiling up at him, "Ok _Drake_,"

"Oh, so your mad at me now?" Nate held his hands up in mock defence, laughing.

Elena rolled her eyes, "Just get your ass in the water, and find my treasure! I've got a bunch of anxious bosses back home who want to see where there money is going."

"And that," Nate pointed his finger at Elena, "That is why I work independently."

Elena smirked, "Alright, as soon as you get yourself a state of the art dive boat, we can take as long as you want to find some ancient treasure."

Nate rolled his eyes, as he strapped on his oxygen tanks, and pulled his respirator up to his mouth. He perched himself on the very edge of the boat's hull, and adjusted his dive mask.

"See you on the other side!" Nate joked.

Elena had already turned back to the control room, so she just waved her hand back at Nate, hiding the smile that graced her lips.

As she walked into the dimly lit room, Elena thought to herself. _There's something about this one– good or bad, I don't know. Either way, I think I'll keep my eyes on him for the time being._

Nate closed his eyes as he rolled backwards off the boat, plunging into the pure blue that surrounded him. Bubbles enveloped him, surging upwards to the surface, as he began his descent. His ring glistened whenever a stray beam of sunlight hit it.

_Hope there aren't any barracudas down here. _

Nate swam down, breathing regularly as he equalized his internal pressure slowly, and controlled. If the co-ordinates on Drake's ring were correct, somewhere down here, he would find Drake's coffin.

The question was where.

Elena paced around the deck for the first half an hour, trying not to count the time in her head. She debated going back to her diary, however, she was in a restless mood, and so she remained on deck. She checked over her camera four times– lucky number four– to ensure that everything was ready to go when Nate found whatever it was that was down there.

_Maybe the ever-stereotypical sunken treasure chest, or some other sort of pirate booty_.

Elena smirked in spite of herself,

_Booty! How old am I, six?_

She rolled her eyes.

Elena ventured over to the edge of the boat, where Nate's dive site was. She stared into the clear depths below– still too deep, despite the clarity, to see Nate. She dipped her arm languidly into the blue, relishing the coolness that dripped over her skin. Elena wiped a bead of sweat from her brow.

Maybe a swim would help the time pass.

Nate had been busy for the last 30 minutes fanning the sand at the bottom of the ocean for any sign of the buried coffin. As the clock pushed 45 minutes however, frustration set in, and Nate started thinking that he was missing something.

_Come on! Think Nate, think! But that's just it; there is nothing to think about! The coffin should have been dumped at exactly 9.32.79– the current nautical position._

_So where the hell is it!_

Nate started sweeping his hands faster, sand billowing up in voluminous clouds. After five more minutes, Nate found himself with a waning oxygen supply, an even faster waning supply of patience, and still nothing remotely close to Drake's coffin.

_Screw it; I've wasted enough time down here for this morning. I hope we've got something for breakfast up there._

Elena plunged into the water feet first, eyes closed. She felt a weight lifted from her shoulders as she allowed the coolness of the water to rid her body of any feeling other than delicious refreshment.

Elena had opted for her white string bikini, as Nate wouldn't be returning for about an hour. The swim had invigorated Elena enough to let 15 minutes pass, however, she let a frustrated sigh as she heaved herself up the boat's ladder, carefully avoiding the patches of rust and corrosion. Elena grabbed her towel, and laid it out on the deck. She slowly laid out on it, basking in the heat and light. Nate had been gone for about 3o minutes now, so she had decided that it would be safe to take off her top.

After all, why waste the chance to get an amazing tan.

Nate gasped as he pulled off his respirator and dive mask, moving his eyebrows and forehead, trying to return some range of movement to his face. He felt his vision blur, and stabilize a few times, his head and limbs pulsing.

"Shit, I came up to soon, aughh!"

Nate inhaled deeply as he clutched his forehead and winced at another pulsing wave of pain. He surfaced too quickly, resulting in a very mild case of the bends, he was lucky– no permanent damage was done.

Frustrated, pained, and hungry, Nate hauled himself up the side of the boat, not bothering to use the ladder– a bad tetanus infection was the last thing he needed now. He stepped onto the deck, not caring if he slipped on the water, which was pooling around his feet, and running down his lean frame clad in his wetsuit.

"Well…you don't see that every day."


	2. The Art of Sunburn

**Hi all! First off, sorry for the slow update; between AP exams and other end of year stuff, my time has been in high demand. Many thanks to all who commented and or subscribed on the last chapter :p warm fuzzies are always great! As if you didn't know, I don't own Uncharted etc. If I did, there would be a lot more NatexElena :3 Anyways, enjoy the next chapter, and don't be afraid to comment and or review! **

Elena sat up, startled by Nate's sudden interruption, awkwardly throwing her arms over her bare chest, confusion and anger burned across her features.

"What the hell Nate! What are you–"

"Shit, Elena, I'm sorry–" Nate started, smirking, amused with his 'find'. "I didn't realize you were uh…. What exactly were you, uh–"

"Just turn around!" Elena spat, wrapping her towel around herself. She rushed past Nate, who was failing to conceal his amusement.

"Wha– aw come on Elena, you know I didn't do that on purpose!" Nate said, defending himself with his hands in a jest. _I wouldn't have been so loud if I knew you were sunbathing without your top on_, Nate thought.

Elena clutched her towel tightly as she stormed into her room. She walked over to the grimy excuse for a sink, and turned to tap. A thin stream of water ran from the spout and into her hands. Her reflection in the mirror had a ruddy complexion- either from the sun, or Nate's eyes. _Bastard_. Elena straightened up, and dried her hands on the towel around her. She let it slip onto the floor, as she closed the door with her foot. Her suitcase held few clothes, most of which were a repetition of the previous day's outfit, but in an alternate colour. Elena sighed as she pulled a purple tank top over her head, gingerly arranging it over her shoulders, which were already showing signs of the sun. She zipped up her khaki capri's, and stepped again in the sunlight. Calmly assuring herself that it would be in her best interest to ignore what had just transpired.

"Hey Nate, do you have any-"

"Aloe?" Nate smirked, indicating the red that was already spreading on Elena's shoulders. "Yeah in my cabin, I'll go get it for you." Nate started to get up from his seat on the deck, after spending the past hour in the ocean's depths he had felt the need to bathe in the warmth as well.

"No- uh… I mean, I don't want to trouble you, I'll get it myself, thanks." Elena suggested.

"Uh, no offence Sunshine, but you don't know where it is. As much as I'd love for you to go digging around in my luggage…"

"Oh, uh right, yeah. I just… never mind." Elena sank down onto a crate, resting her chin on her hand. _Apparently, this could get more awkward._ She sighed deeper into her hand._ This is why I work from home._

Carefully attempting to recline on her back, her sunburn gave much protest, and she flipped onto her front– soon relaxing in the soothing motions of the waves beneath.

Nathan yawned as he made his way into the ship's interior, stepping with ease over the rusted patches, deftly ducking under the invasive bulkheads, stopping for a moment to test the integrity of a recently repaired leak in the hull. After ensuring that it would hold– for now at least– Nate continued on until he reached the rusted door of his cabin. He scanned the mess of his quarters, crouching under the low ceiling to where his bed stood, tossing some dirty clothes onto the floor off of his duffle bag. _I did remember to pack aloe, right? _ Nate paused for a moment, reflecting on Elena's sunburn, _Yeowch, she got it pretty bad today… how long was she even out for? Girl burns fast! _Nate mused upon the subject of Elena's skin, recalling that she had chosen to sunbathe without her bikini top. A warm flush dispersed through him, as he continued that intriguing train of thought._ Maybe ol' Nate can show some chivalry, and give her some relief… uh… from the sun. _Nate sighed, searching inside his bag for the elusive aloe lotion.

Elena had shifted several times in a fruitless search for relent from her sunburn which was increasingly growing more painful. She stared into the deep blue surrounding her, imagining how good something cold would feel on her skin right now. _Salt would probably help too… maybe I should go for a swim?_ Her plans were interrupted by the idea of putting on her bathing suit again. _Don't think I'll be wearing that anytime soon. At least, not while I'm around Drake._ Elena felt more that sunburn burning her cheeks. Maybe it was the ocean that made her more daring, at home she never went out in the sun without SPF 45, _well, maybe a few, er… many times when I was younger._ Elena smiled, remembering her more adventurous days. Sure, she was still an adventure seeker, daring and independent; however, she was just a bit more responsible. _Apparently still irresponsible enough to burn my whole damn back_. Elena slid down so that she was laying her front on the cool metal of the crate beneath her. Finally finding some comfort, surprisingly despite the pressure, she closed her placed her ear down, leveling her eyes to the horizon.

Nate made his way back to the deck, his search failing to procure any aloe, however, a brief detour in Elena's cabin had proved useful. It wasn't aloe, but it was moisturizer, so technically it should help. Nate hoped that Elena would agree to his proposal, and allow him to aid her, that way, she wouldn't be able to tell the difference or recognize what Nate had done. _In my defence, the door was open, and uh, I thought I should uh… it was really messy, and I need… to work on my argument._ Nate smirked and walked to Elena's still form. She lifted her head as she heard him approach.

"Hey, took ya long enough." Elena quipped, laying her head back down.

"Well, lets just say that the state of my quarters is not my top priority right now"

Elena would have remarked, however the state of her room was not altogether immaculate itself. She started to sit up, turning to where Drake was standing.

"Hey, uh I was thinking about what happened earlier, and maybe I could make it up to you by, um,"

Elena was upright, staring at Drake questioningly, "By rubbing your hands over me?"

Drake interrupted with a nervous laugh, "You make it sound so, dirty… I was just trying to b e–"

"Helpful?" Elena smirked, shaking her head and getting up, "thanks, but you've been _quite helpful_ enough today." She strolled past Drake, taking the lotion out of his hands as she did so.

Drake could only watch her walk past, stunned at her response.

Elena huffed as she sat down into her canvas chair, ignoring the pain her actions just caused. She gingerly peeled her skin away from the back of the chair, which, going by feeling, had just removed the top layer of her skin. She opened her laptop sitting on her suitcase, and opened a new journal entry page.

Elena Fisher Electronic Diary

Day 1

9: 55 hours

UGGGHHHHHH!

Well, this has been a _wonderful_ start to our expedition. I brilliantly decided that for once, I would try for an "all over" tan– well not entirely all over, thank god! O.k. for starters, I knew that Drake would be occupied with his dive for a while, but… I guess I lost track of time. Yeah… well,

Elena sighed, rolling her eyes slightly at the embarrassment of it all.

I didn't notice his return, and… well, as he put it, "You don't see that every day"! This trip just got a hellofa more awkward. At least I don't really have to do anything with him, I mean, I could just stay in my room for the rest of the day– Not like I'm gonna be in the sun anymore today!

Even more unfortunate, although I suppose it's to be expected, is the fact that his dive wasn't successful. Realistically, you don't find the treasure on the first dive. Would've been nice to at least found _something_.

Well, that's it for now, um, gonna try to get this aloe on my burns!

Elena saved her entry, and closed the computer. She stretched up slowly, avoiding the chair back, and the height of the roof. _Not doing that again_! She sat on the edge of her bunk, and opened the lotion, frowning as she examined the label. She paused, deducing what had happened, coming to the startling conclusion that Drake had been in her room. She turned, taking in the mess of her cabin, embarrassing enough without her delicates strewn about in her earlier search for her bikini. She sighed in annoyance and anger, Drake would have to wait to get yelled at: for the moment her burns were the priority. She delicately started to smear the lotion thickly over her reddened skin, wincing a few times when her fingers had come too close to the skin. After a few minutes of silent ministration, Elena realized that her back too was burning. She let out a frustrated groan, realizing that she would require Nathan's assistance after all. She sat up, wiping her hands off on her pants, grabbed the tube and walked in the direction of his quarters.

Nathan had stood there for a few moments before shaking his head, and returning to his quarters, trying to figure out how exactly this woman's mind functioned on the same plane as his. He slumped into his bed, not giving a shit about the fact that his shorts were slightly wet from being under his wetsuit. _Not my bed, not my boat, not my problem_. Nathan reached over to his desk where his notebook sat. He sighed as he opened it to a blank page, creasing the wrinkled page beneath his fingertips. He gazed to the ceiling, trying to collect his thoughts into a succinct stream, gazing upward for a while in this pursuit. After a while passed, he looked down at his page, where he had been absentmindedly doodling. He ripped the page out in frustration, and was about to resume his musing, when a fait knock on his door disturbed his thoughts. Drake raised an eyebrow as he saw Elena quietly peek her head into the doorway.

Swallowing her pride, Elena strode into the room, "Hey Nate, um do you think you could help me?"

Nathan stood up, ignoring any rakish comments, figuring she had suffered enough for one day. He walked over to her, gesturing for her to come in, "Sure Elena."

"Thanks, uh, my back is really burning, are you sure there is no aloe?"

"I'm pretty sure, but I can look again if you want."

Elena sat on his bed and waved a hand in protest, "No, it's o.k., I was just wondering."

"O.k., then. This'll probably work better if you lay down."

"Yep. Already on it." Elena slowly attempting to turn over, "it's just hard do move quickly when your skin feels like it's peeling off."

"Here, let me help," Nathan hastened over to help her the rest of the way, gently lowering her onto his pillow, and proceeded to get the lotion.

Elena attempted to lift her shirt up, however the tightness of her back prevented her from going any further than her waist.

Nathan's attention was diverted with a soft hiss from Elena, and he delicately took her hands, placing them at her sides. She turned to look back at him: appreciation, not anger in her eyes. She laid her head back down as Nathan cautiously took either side of her shirt, gingerly sliding it up her back, pausing at her shoulders. She raised her arms for him, and he continued, laying the shirt beside her on the bed. He took a moment to indulge in the slow curve of her spine, and the contours of her shoulder blades; the column of her neck, graced by wisps of hair unfurling from her bun. He sat beside her warming the lotion between his fingers.

_Here we go._


	3. Broken Pottery

**Hello all! Sorry for the delay in the update–I had a ton of ISU's, exams, etc due, and those took precedence. However, as it is now summertime, I will try for much more frequent updates! Thanks for all of my followers for sticking with me, trust me updates will be much more frequent. Special thanks to all those who favourited or followed, all your love is greatly appreciated! Also special thanks to those who read and reviewed, as a writer, feedback is as important as air; I need to know what I am doing wrong/what you want to see, etc. After all, this is **_**fan**_** fiction, I want to be sure I am writing what my readers want me to :3! **

**Typical Disclaimer: Naughty Dog owns, I don't, blah blah, sad face.**

**Enjoy!**

Nathan shifted closer to Elena, gently pressing into the mattress, rising to his knees in order to reach across to her shoulders. Elena's breathing paused for a moment as she sensed Nate's hands hovering above her. Nate slid his fingers across her upper back, consciously focusing on applying the minimum amount of pressure as to not discomfort her. Nate felt Elena tense under his fingers, no doubt uncomfortable in every sense of the word. After a few moments of hesitant exploration, Nate began sliding gently over the entirety of her upper back, still sensing tension beneath. Gentle in his ministrations, Elena soon found a transition between pain and relief, the soothing coolness of the lotion drying on her skin a tantalizing contrast from the suffocating burns. She exhaled, closing her eyes in both submission to his hands and the relief stemming from them. Nate paused for a moment, lifting his hands from her back, unsure of how to proceed. His back was starting to ache from twisting his shoulders to reach Elena's back while kneeling beside her.

"Hey Elena, do you mind if I uh," _How do I ask to straddle her without being awkward? Uh, scratch that. You can only ask to straddle someone if… well… _

"If you what Nate?" Her eyes remained closed in her bliss, the majority of her back now slick with lotion.

"Uh", _come on Nate, now or never_. He scrunched his eyes closed as he blurted, "Would you mind if I straddled you?"

Elena opened her eyes, surprised at his forwardness, "Uh…"

"It's just, well, I think I've got a kink in my back from leaning over to reach you. It doesn't help that I have to hunch over 'cuz of this crappy bunk bed."

Elena scoffed, turning to look over her shoulder at him, however the look on his face silenced her arguments. She sighed, realizing that although he had been an ass earlier, he was going out of his way right now to help her out- and he had made an effort to be extra gentle.

"Fine, just, uh, don't hit your head off of the–"

_Whack_

"Ahhh fu–!" Nate clutched his head where he had just hit it on the bunk bed above him. He grumbled something about the innumerable problems with this ship as he carefully eased himself underneath the offending bed, placing himself to rest over Elena's hips. He blinked back the pain as he sank down over her. His heart rate picking up as he realized what exactly he was sitting over, cursing himself for even considering this new position. Elena lay under him, shifting her hips slightly, trying to get comfortable underneath of him. Nate bit his lip slightly as his hands slid down her back to rest on her hips, fingers sliding ever so slightly around to the front of them. He convinced himself that he was just trying to quiet her movements, as, truthfully, if she didn't stop adjusting her hips, he was going to have to endure a lot more than just back pain.

"Hey, Elena, how 'bout you just try to stay still– uh, I don't want to get lotion on your, uh, pants."

"Oh, sorry! I was just trying to make room for you." She had finally ceased in her movement.

Nate groaned inwardly at her word choice, "No problem, now, uh, just relax." Nate said, hoping he could also follow his own advice.

"That," Elena closed her eyes, "will be easy".

Nathan rolled his eyes as he continued massaging her sore skin, her upper shoulders already showing improvement.

* * *

Elena felt herself drifting off under the gentle movements of Nate's fingers, feeling the most at ease she had been all day. She allowed herself to simply enjoy, not even feeling the need to multitask and ponder about all the things she would need to do in preparation for tomorrow, or how long she could expect this expedition to take. Her peace was interrupted as she startled herself awake with a quite noticeably languorous moan.

"Uh… everything alright down there?" Nate questioned. _Where the hell did that come from?_

"Yep! Um, just really enjoying the massage, er, lotion..." Elena felt heat a blush spread across her features in spite of herself. She squirmed slightly under him, trying to shake off the awkwardness.

Nate had closed his eyes, desperately trying to fight the heat spreading through him evoked by her moan. It had been too long since he had had the pleasure of inducing any such noise from a woman. This in and of itself was incredibly stimulating, however, in her squirming, Elena had managed to brush her bottom against his crotch, which only served to increase his arousal.

_How ya gonna get out of this one Nate?_

"Uh, all done." Nate smiled weakly as he quickly got off of her, "I'm gonna go wash my hands, they're all greasy from the, uh, lotion."

Elena opened her eyes, turning her head to watch Nate's retreating form, "Uh, ok? Thanks…" She grabbed her shirt and wiped some of the excess lotion off of her. She slipped it over her head carefully, pleasantly surprised that her skin was not as stiff as it had been before.

* * *

Nate quickly walked out of his cabin, and swiftly made his way to their communal bathroom. He splashed his face with cold water, trying to get rid of the inappropriate feelings rising in him. He looked into the mirror, staring at his reflection in the glass tarnished by the salt air. _Pull it together Nate, just, uh, think of that time you got food poisoning from that disgusting mystery meat back in Cartagena, or uh, Sully in a bikini. Yeah, that'll do it. _Nate scrunched his eyes closed and splashed his face with cold water again, feeling himself relax slightly. He shook his hands dry and padded his face off with a towel. He took one last look at himself in the mirror, and satisfied that everything was, under control, he walked back to his cabin, anxious to get on with the day.

* * *

Elena had returned to her cabin, and had seated herself at her desk, preparing to make another journal entry. She sighed, opening her laptop and clicking on her email icon.

_Got to check if the boss sent anything_.

Although Elena was the one spearheading this whole exploration, she still needed a significant amount of funding. Luckily her company had realized the potential for a story like this, and agreed to sponsor it. However, the boat they had provided had seen much, much better days.

_Like in the 1800's maybe_ Elena smirked, the amount of repairs outnumbered the amount of functioning utilities on the ship, however, with any luck, their search would be over soon.

Elena was just about to open her journal entry when she heard a knock on her door. Nate stood there, clad in his wetsuit, holding his mask in his free hand.

"I was thinking I should take another dive, I mean, we don't have time to waste, and I'm willing to bet your boss isn't going to be thrilled with us just sitting on our asses all day."

"Hey, I was just–" Elena started, getting up from her chair.

Nate held his hands up in defence, "Figure of speech."

Elena crossed her arms over her chest, "Fine. But I'm staying in the shade this time." She followed Nate through the doorway onto the deck.

He smirked, "Sure thing sunshine."

* * *

Nate had spent the better part of the morning searching for the coffin, only coming up with a few broken pieces of pottery to show for his work. Elena, meanwhile, had spent her time organizing the clutter of her cabin and lately, putting together a few sandwiches for their lunch. They ate together on the deck, Nate still in his gear, save his air tank, and Elena in the shade of the helm. They shared few words, both slightly frustrated with the efforts thus far. Nate stood, brushing a few stray crumbs off of him.

"Going back in already? Aren't you supposed to wait 30 minutes or something like that?"

Nate smirked at her, "Never been one for rules sunshine– I make my own."

Elena rolled her eyes at him as she gathered up the remaining items from lunch. "Good luck then, or whatever."

"Thanks." Nate said, adjusting his mask and putting the respirator into his mouth. He rolled off the edge of the boat with ease, silently hoping that this time he would find the coffin. He fingered the ring around his neck pensively, confident that the co-ordinates engraved on it would reveal the ancient treasure.

* * *

Elena had returned to her cabin and opened her journal program, taking the opportunity to create another entry, as she was alone and therefore wouldn't be disturbed. She rolled her shoulders back and stretched out her neck with her eyes closed. The glow of her screen bathed the interior of her dim cabin with a soft white light.

Elena Fisher Electronic Diary

Day 1

13:34 hours

Nate's back at it, although the past 3 dives have only come up with a few broken shards of pottery, all of which he assured me weren't anywhere close to being old enough. I'm starting to wonder if we'll actually find this thing!

My sunburn is still brutal, although not as bad as before. This isn't any thanks to aloe lotion, Oh no. Apparently we don't have ANY aloe on this tin can, which isn't surprising as nothing has seemed to go right on this expedition. Sorry, I'm getting off track again.

Last time I wrote that my "sunbathing incident" had made the trip awkward. Well, I think I have something that tops that. As I was saying, I would have been fine to just use some lotion or whatever, but trying to put anything on your back, regardless of incredibly debilitating burns, is next to impossible. So… I asked Drake if he could help me, which is all fine and dandy. I was actually surprised that he agreed to it– we hardly know each other. So I lay down on his bed, and he knelt beside me, which was problematic from the start. Stupid bunk beds. Everything was going great until I apparently feel asleep, aaaand, I woke myself up with some kind of moan. It was honestly like a "what the hell brain" kinda moment. I don't know if he heard it or not; if he did he was certainly a good sport about it. He'll probably tease me about it next time I see him…

Anyways, next thing you know, he asks if he could straddle me because his back was hurting.

No, not _that_ kind of straddle, although I wouldn't have minded…

Elena allowed her mind to wander for a brief moment, pondering all sorts of "what ifs" – however, a splash of water hitting her porthole brought her back to reality.

Uh, where was I? His back, right, his back was hurting because he had to twist to reach me properly. So, I agreed, because, uhmm, he had good reason, (?) I don't know, there really wasn't a reason to say no, I mean he went out of his way to help me out. So I move around a bit to make sure he won't kneel on me, and I may have brushed against him in the process. And the only explanation I can think of is that it must have gotten Drake all hot and bothered, 'cuz next thing I know, he practically jumps off of me like I've got the plague, and makes a beeline for the bathroom.

I guess we've both decided that nothing happened, or something like that, Nate– uh, you know I'm not really sure what exactly to call him.

Nate? Nathan? Drake?

Whatever, I guess it all goes back to "A rose by any other name" or whatnot. He doesn't seem to mind.

Nate's still in the water right now, and we're both hoping that he finds something this time. After all, it's not like we have time to kill. The company only gave us this boat for a week and a half, and it's already taken us 3 days to get out here. Oh, in case you're wondering, my laptop charger was missing for a while, so my first entry starts today. Besides, it's not like anything really happened for those days, I threw up once, and I pretty much slept the rest of the time. It's a miracle in itself that I can find anything in here!

* * *

Elena lifted her gaze from her computer screen as she heard Nate calling her name from the deck. She hurriedly finished her entry, and shut the lid, eager to see what all the excitement was about.


	4. Drake's Secret

**Hello all! I'm loving the fact that I'm done for the summer! (Sorry if you're not :( Thanks again to all my faithful followers, you guys motivate me to keep writing! Special thanks to There She Goes And Shes Comin for your continued support and awesome reviews! Seriously though, to all of you out there, feel free to comment, I don't care what you write, I'd just love to hear from you :3 This chapter picks up the storyline from Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, so the plot will mirror that of the game. If you are just joining this story, also keep in mind that I will be inserting some romance, because I love this pairing, and I definitely think some things could have happened between cut scenes. **

**Typical Disclaimer: Naughty Dog owns the characters and the storyline, my imagination just works with what they made :P**

**Enjoy!**

Elena scrambled up from her seat, grabbed her camera as she rushed onto the deck, spurred on by the promise that this time, Drake may have found the coffin. She quickly checked the battery on the camera; it indicated there was 97 minutes left. She could feel her heart race as she got closer to the deck. She had been waiting so long for this discovery. Years of research to find out exactly where the coffin was buried, careful planning to find a reliable guide, and even begging to get the boat and funds. All of this might finally be worth something if Nate had indeed been successful. _Wish I could have gone down with him. I wonder how deep under the sand it was after four centuries. _

Elena stepped out from shade of the interior and shaded her eyes from the sun. She practically skipped as she made her way over to the side of the boat where Nathan was still in the water.

"Well? Anything?" Elena struggled to contain her hope, lifting her camera up to begin recording.

Nathan smiled up at her, bobbing slightly in the waves. The wide grin on his face and the twinkle in his eyes gave away his answer even before he could voice it himself.

"I think you're gonna like this."

(Bar)

Elena had changed into her wetsuit, as she would need to be in the water to help feed the chain down to Nathan, so he could attach the coffin to it. After it had been secured, she helped Nathan out of the water as he began going over procedure for the next part of their exploration. He showed her what she would need to do to operate the crane and hoist. Nathan refilled his air tanks one last time, as he would need to ascend with the coffin to ensure that the chains held. _Don't want to have to search for it again_.

Within the hour the whirring of the crane's engine and the clinking of chains hoisted the rusted treasure into sights. Both explorers staring at it in awe, Elena taking in the view with her one free eye, the other occupied with recording everything that happened.

"Woah!" Elena breathed, lapsing for a moment into the wonder of the sight and letting the camera sag away from her face. She quickly righted it, not wanting to miss a moment of this on film.

"Hello beautiful!" Nate caught the side of the metal coffin, assisting Elena in drawing it in over the deck. Carefully, they lowered it onto the deck and removed the chains attaching it to the crane.

"Ok, I'm going to start recording now, so –" Elena started.

"So in other words, shut up?" He smirked at her.

Behind the lens, Elena rolled her eyes. "I'm here off the coast of Panama, where we just recovered what may be the coffin of legendary explorer Sir Francis Drake, who was buried at sea over 400 years ago." Elena breathed, excitement creeping into her tone.

A loud grunt from Nate interrupted her narration: he had begun to open the coffin savagely with a crowbar.

"Are you sure you want to be defiling your ancestor's remains like that?" Elena questioned, lowering her camera, regarding his barbaric style of archaeology with a laugh: she would have been just the same however. Eagerness was an understatement of their feelings at this point.

"You make it sound so dirty," Nate breathed, panting as he laughed lightly.

Elena groaned, _Nate's just being Nate I suppose. He does like to turn everything I say into a double entendre every time he can, so why should I be surprised?_

"Besides I thought you didn't believe me." He continued to chip away at the seam of the coffin, smiling as he felt it give slightly under his strength.

Elena smirked at him, "I did my research, and apparently Sir Francis didn't have any children." Elena took her eyes from the camera and looked at Nathan, mild suspicion playing at her eyes, but a smile on her lips. Her eyes falling to his arms, and shoulders.

He gazed up, trademark smirk across his lips as he continued to heave against the weight of the coffin. Nate grunted, muscles taut and defined under the strain of fighting to break 400 years worth of rust and water damage Elena found herself still staring at him, biting her bottom lip slightly. _He's pretty built for a, well, whatever he is._ _That tight wetsuit doesn't hurt his figure either, _Elena mused.

"History can be wrong ya know" Nate panted heavily, throwing his crowbar down. "For example, you can't defile an empty coffin." With a final, lengthy grunt through bared teeth, he shoved the lid, sliding it off forcefully. It hit the deck with a loud clang.

"What the hell?" Elena exclaimed, incredulous by what she saw.

Nate sank back to rest on his heels, chest heaving slightly from his labors. He lifted up a small metal box, the only thing inside the coffin other than chunks of calcified coral and rock. His smile broadened as his fingers lifted a small weathered book out of the box, flipping through it with a chuckle. _Finally_ "Ah hahaha! You Devil!" Nate smiled, relieved to find what he had been truly looking for.

"What? What is it? Hold it up!" Elena stepped closer, eager to see what had put Nathan in such high spirits.

He turned his head; smile disappearing from his face, "Wha–no no no no!" He shoved his hand in front of the lens, blocking it from the journal. He stood up, facing Elena with a frown on his face. "Deal was for a coffin, nothing else."

Elena scowled at him, "If my company hadn't have funded this expedition you–"

Drake cut her off with a wave of his hand, trying to calm her down at the same time as trying to pull one over her. He smiled at her, trying to be as convincing as possible, "You got your story lady."

(bar)

**Earlier that day…**

Nate paced back and forth in his small cabin, painfully ducking slightly as to not hit his head on the low roof, holding a phone to his ear.

"Yeah, bit of a problem Sully." He chewed on his thumb absentmindedly. "What exactly are we telling this girl once we find it? I've already put it off for a few hours, I don't know how long I can stall without her getting suspicious. She knows we're at the coordinates, so I can't really–"

"Well, I honestly don't know what to say. Can't ya just throw 'er overboard?" Victor Sullivan chuckled jokingly.

"Very funny Sully. And I suppose we'd just tell her boss that we had an accident at sea?"

"You know Nate, that's not a bad idea. I could pick you up, then sink the ship in the night, I've got plenty of RPG's. She wouldn't even know what hit 'er!"

"You can't be serious Sully? That's low, even for you." Nate could hear Sully arguing with someone in the background. He lowered the receiver from his ear as he pinched the bridge of his nose with the other hand. _Fine mess we're in now. Take the money he said, you'll be fine he said. _Nate turned his attention back to the phone: he could hear Sully repeating his name, thinking he had lost the signal.

"I'm here Sully."

"So, what are you going to do then?"

"Not what your suggesting, I'll tell you that much. I'll just, uh…"

"You'll just what Nate? Woo her? That'll work, oh yeah."

Nate rolled his eyes as Sully's gravely chuckle rang in his ears. "I'll do what I do best: improvise."

"Well," Sully sighed, "whatever you do, do it fast. I'll be arriving later today, and you know that I don't care if I'm picking up one passenger or two. It's your choice."

Nate stood in the middle of his cabin, pulling the receiver from his ear as the dial tone droned. He tossed the phone onto his bed as he sank down beside it. He rubbed his face with his hands, closing his eyes in an effort to come up with a solution.

(bar)

Elena stood there, explaining to Nate that he was contractually obligated to show her all that he found. She felt her cheeks redden slightly in frustration, especially so as Nathan seemed more focused on something over her shoulder than the validity of her argument.

"And therefore, you have to– are you even list-"

"Could you hold that thought for a second? I think we have bigger problems"

Elena's face clouded, "Wh, what? Bigger prob– what are you talking about?" She scrambled over to the crate that Nathan was walking over to.

Nate opened the crate, took out a walkie talkie. "Uh Sully, we've got bigger troubles… hurry it up a bit o.k.?" Nate breathed in, trying to figure out how he was going to explain this to Elena.

"Uh… o.k. what's going on? You going to tell me or–"

Nate looked at her, a nervous smile across his features. _He looks like the cat that swallowed the canary._ Elena mused, setting her camera down on the crate.

"Uh... pirates."

Elena looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "Pirates?" she scoffed.

Nate quickly walked over to a storage container, lifting a battered, white case out. He opened it deftly, extracting two small pistols. "Yea, pirates, the modern kind." He examined one of the guns, scraping at some dried on dirt, "And they don't take prisoners. Uh, male prisoners, anyways."

Elena walked up to him nervously. She scanned the horizon, searching for said "pirates". Her heart fluttered in her throat when she saw three rough looking boats approaching rapidly. She could make out a number of people on board, and a variety of intimidating machine guns.

"Shouldn't we call the authorities or something?" Her voice trembled slightly; as a journalist, she'd seen battlefields, war-torn countries filled with dangerous rebels and mercenaries, but she'd never faced them on a tiny boat in the middle of the ocean.

Nathan chuckled mirthlessly. _Shit. That's another thing I've gotta tell her._ "Uh, I don't think that's a good idea. See, we don't exactly have a permit to be here…"

Elena's eyes widened, her tone dead flat, "What?"

Nate winced at the anger dripping in her tone, "So unless you want to spend some time in a Panamanian jail, I suggest we–"

"Well, which is worse?" Elena was debating between slapping him and hiding behind him. She'd never actually had to fight before, especially not against pirates.

He turned to look at her, his eyebrows raised in a mix of condescension and surprise, his tone sounded exasperated, "You've obviously never been in a Panamanian jail before."

Elena balked momentarily, _who exactly is this Mr. Drake if he knows what prison, a Panamanian prison, is like? What the hell did I get myself into now!_ Next thing she knew, Nate had tossed one of the guns to her, she caught it, fumbling slightly. She looked up at Nate like he had three heads, "Whaa–"

"You know how to use one of these right?" Nate dropped his chin slightly, looking at her like she was a child.

She chuckled nervously, "Yeah, I mean, it's like a camera, you just point and shoot, right?"

"Good girl." Nate breathed throatily, realizing he had been holding his breath.

Elena hesitated for a second, _Where did that come from? Good girl? Better question: why did that sound so sexy? _She shook her head slightly, _Get your head together girl, now is not the time for those thoughts. _ She followed Nathan to take cover behind one of the bins, clicking her safety off. She happened to lower her eyes to his ass. _Damn. O.k, well criminal or not, this guy looks smokin' in a wetsuit_. She felt a blush creep across her features as her eyes roamed his body from his powerful shoulders to his, dare she think it, sexy ass. She blinked a few times before she registered that he was yelling to her from across the deck to get down. She peeked up from behind her hiding spot to see Nate fighting against two unarmed pirates. He moved skillfully, dodging their clumsy sweeping punches and kicks, using their momentum against them. He fought with grace and power, delivering a crushing chest kick to one, sending him flying back, hitting his back off of the railing with an unhealthy crack. The other soon found himself receiving three devastating uppercuts, finishing with him flying up and over as Nate delivered a crushing final blow, extending his arm fully, snagging the AK-47 from the pirate's side. He turned around to face Elena's stunned face, smirking at her.

_Oh. My. God. If that's not hot, I don't know what is. _

A sudden splintering of wood behind her drew her out of her reverie. She whipped her head around just in time to duck as a hail of bullets shot into the crate behind her.

"Shit!" Elena squinted through the splintering wood as she hurriedly crawled over to find new cover. A pause in the fire allowed her to vault over the crate onto the other side. She drew her pistol as she saw a pirate hop onto the ship. Taking aim she squeezed the trigger hitting him in his chest. The momentum of the bullet threw his balance off, and he slipped into the water.

"Ha!" Elena smirked, scanning around for her next target. Two more pirates had already boarded, and were making their way over to where she was hiding. She inhaled to calm herself, then quickly popped above her cover, shooting one of them in the shoulder, and again in the neck. He fell to the ground, splashing onto the bloody deck. The other fired a few shots at Elena, one of them whizzing past her left ear. She ducked for a moment, letting a few more shots ring out. She heard him pause to reload, and she sprung up, shooting him dead center between his eyes.

"Headshot!" Nate called out, smirking at her.

"Look out!" Elena cried, seeing an armed pirate approach him from behind. Nate turned to see him fall to the ground, three holes in his chest. He looked towards where Elena was kneeling, gun still leveled at the fallen man.

_Damn, that girl can shoot! I'm starting to wonder if she's more than just a news reporter… That, and if she's single. _

"Hey Nate?" Elena got up from her cover and made her way to stand beside him.

"Yea?"

"Why did they stop? There's no one else trying to get on anymore." She said, indicating the circling boats.

Nate surveyed the boats: none of them had any more pirates on the roofs or decks. Except one. Someone was steadying themselves on the roof of one of the boats, something held in his hand. Nate squinted to make out what it was, _What are you up… Shit! _ "Get down! RPG!"

"Wha–?" Elena didn't have time to finish, Nate tackled her to the ground, covering her body with his. She felt the heat ripple off of the explosion that shook the boat.

"Shit!" _Come on Sully, where ARE you! _"You o.k.?"

Elena coughed a few times, "Yeah, never been better. You?"

"Just dandy. We gotta' get outa here, we're sitting ducks."

Elena looked around her, indicating the ocean around them, "Where exactly are we gonna go?"

Another huge explosion rocked the boat and lit up the cabin in flames.

Nate looked up as he heard the familiar sound of a plane fly overhead. _Sully_

"Come on Elena, we gotta jump!"

"Uhh, o.k!" Elena hurried over to where Nate was standing by the rail. She suddenly skidded to a stop, and turned back.

"Where the hell are you going? We gotta–"

"My camera!" She hurried over to the crate where she had left it, and grabbed it. She examined it quickly as she made her way back to where Nathan was standing.

"Hurry!" Nate regarded her incredibly. _Woman cares more about that damn camera than her own life!_

"O.k., o.k., let's go." She ran the remaining distance, vaulting with ease over the railing, Nate following suit.

The water bloomed and angry orange overhead of Nate and Elena, reflecting the plumes of fire and smoke erupting from the remains of the boat. Nate grabbed the shoulder of Elena's wetsuit as he urged her to swim further under the water. His lungs began to feel shriveled from lack of air. Elena began swimming to the surface, but Nate pulled her down to where he was, shaking his head at her. If they surfaced to soon, the only thing they would breath in would be the acrid smoke from burning fiberglass. She clawed at his grip on her shoulder, fighting for air. Nate ground his teeth as he felt his vision start to dim around the edges, but still he swam forward.

Elena felt her vision fade, and she feared that if Drake didn't let go of her soon, she wouldn't see anything else again. She opened her mouth, no longer able to fight the urge to breathe, swallowing seawater instead. Nate gasped as he lifted her up out of the water beside him, holding her slightly to let her catch a breath. She coughed for a few minutes, emptying seawater from her windpipe. Nate struggled to catch his breath, panting for want of air. He looked behind him to the wreckage of their ship, thinking about what they had just lost.

_Shit. Hope I'm not liable for any of that. Should have listened to Victor "don't sign contracts" Sullivan_. He heard the sound of a metal door opening behind, and turned to look_. Speak of the devil…_

"Sully!" Nate smiled as he saw the door to the plane open, a middle aged man clad in a Hawaiian shirt and a cigar between his lips smiled down at them.

"Well, well, well! Look who it is!"

**So… I dunno how that went. I'm writing in the car en route to Montreal, so apologies if there are any weird typos, (don't worry, I still used my beta reader and spell check, so it shouldn't be too too bad :P). Let me know how you feel about the script inclusion, I sorta felt funny about using the dialogue from the cutscene. Let me know if you like that, or you want me to paraphrase/put in my own words! **

**Stay lovely!**

**juno57**


	5. Separate Ways

**Hey all! Sorry for the slower update, I was up north where we don't have internet :( I guess it's sort of a catch-22, I can't get distracted by the internet, so I write more, but I also can't update. Oh well. Thanks to all who left their feedback on the last chapter, or who answered my question :P I have decided that, for the most part, that I will be sticking to the general plot/cutscenes, however, for the most part, I won't be keeping the same dialogue as the game– it doesn't seem like my writing if I ****just**** use the script :D That being said, I will also be adding some of my own plot filler in between scenes; from the beginning it was always supposed to be my take on what happens in the game, etc. Lemme know how I'm doing and/or anything in particular you want to see: I'll do what I can :P**

**As always, Naughty Dog owns Nathan Drake and his wonderful assortment of friends and adventures :)**

**Enjoy and review!**

Elena Fisher struggled to catch her breath as she turned in the water, looking at the charred remains of her company's boat. All her clothes, documents, research notes and technology had been left onboard when it erupted into flames.

_Thank god I grabbed my camera! Guess I'm gonna have to leave my journal entries on this thing instead of my laptop…_

The murmur of voices brought Elena out of her musing. The man who stood in the plane's doorway must be that Sullivan character Nathan had mentioned a few times. She swam forward up to the plane, anxious to get out of the water.

_What was Drake always saying about this guy? Ladies man? I'd honestly be surprised given that Hawaiian shirt._

Victor had been talking to Nate when he turned his attention to Elena, "…And you," he grabbed her hand to help her into the plane, "must be the beautiful and talented Elena Fisher."

Elena smirked at the older man's compliment, rolling her eyes slightly.

_Ladies man–check. _

"Flattery," she smiled, "will get you screen time."

"Victor Sullivan at your service." He smiled at her, extending a hand.

"Everyone calls him Sully– well, at least those who he doesn't owe money to" Nate quipped, earning a half-hearted jab from Sully.

Elena stepped into the plane, placing a hand on the roof to steady herself. She coughed a few times, still trying to get rid of residual seawater in her lungs. She took a seat, quietly checking her camera for any damage that may have been inflicted from the explosion. Thankfully, the only flaw was merely a scratch from where she had dropped it earlier. Nothing new had happened to it since.

_Thank god this camera is waterproof!_

Nate stepped into the plane and made his way up to the cockpit where Sully sat. He patted the pocket of his wetsuit, relief washing over him as he felt a small square within it. He sat down in the co-pilot's chair, glancing over his shoulder to see what Elena was doing. She appeared to be examining that beloved camera of hers.

_Good. Don't want her overhearing any of this_

"Well?" Sully looked over at him expectantly.

Nate slipped a hand into his pocket, retrieving the small, leather-bound journal as he did so. "I told you it'd be here."

Sully's eyes widened slightly in excitement, "That better be what I think it is."

Nate smiled at Sully, bringing his voice down to a whisper, "It was in the coffin– just like I said. Sir Francis faked his death– or at least his burial." Nate flipped through the worn pages gingerly; it was over 400 years old, after all. "Do you know what this means?"

"You were right kid– not that I doubted ya."

Elena sat completely still in her seat, straining, willing her ears to pick up the conversation transpiring behind her. Whatever Drake had found in that coffin had obviously been something of note– perhaps even something he had been looking for.

_Probably the only reason why he agreed to help me out, the bastard. Why else would he have been that determined–pulling three, four dives in one day? _

Elena sighed, resting her head in her hands. She was trying to figure out how on earth she was going to explain to her boss about what had happened to the boat, about the lack of a corpse, and about the loss of all her stuff–including her work-issued laptop. She tightened her grip on the camera, the only surviving item from the wreck, closer to herself. She was considering how uncomfortable it would be to fall asleep in a damp wet suit, when her ears picked up on one name from their conversation. Sir Francis Drake.

"Wha'cha guys talking about up here?" Elena's face interrupted Nate's conversation with Sully. "Sounds serious if you have to whisper." She said, raising an eyebrow.

Nate attempted to smoothly tuck the journal back into his pocket without drawing attention, however, Elena was too quick.

"What's that?" The expression on her face warned Drake that she wasn't going to accept anything but the truth from him, so he damn better not lie again.

Nathan inhaled slowly through his nose, trying to telepathically ask Sully for help. Sully chuckled instead. "It's uh, _fuck, _a journal from Sir Francis Drake."

Elena's features broke into a grin, "What's so important about it?"

"We don't know yet," Nate lied, "But we'll find out soon. As it is we're about to land at Casa Sulivan– ain't that right Sully?"

"You betcha." The corners of Sully's eyes crinkled as he grinned, "Buckle up ladies and gents, and thank you for flying Air Sullivan."

The plane touched down on the water in front of a small island. A pleasant beach of white sand sat in front of a series of modest hut-styled buildings. Moored at the dock that they were pulling up was Sully's boat, used mainly for transportation to and from the island. Nate had spent the rest of the flight determining how he was going to break the news to Elena. The last thing he wanted was either having to lie to her, or having to leave her behind.

_Either way she's going to be pissed._

Nathan helped unload some of the cargo from the plane onto the dock beside the boat, his mind still occupied with his predicament. He hadn't heard Elena ask him several times to borrow his phone so she could call her boss.

"Nate!" Sully bellowed at him, interrupting his thoughts, "The lady wants to use the cell phone."

"Oh–sorry, the boxes and things, uh..." He felt around for the phone in his other pocket, mumbling to himself as he did so. "Here, catch!" he lobbed the phone to Elena, who caught it with a slight fumble.

"Thanks! I wont be too long. Lemme know how soon until we have to leave again." She turned on her heel, and walked out of earshot.

Elena muttered to herself as she dialed the number, trying to conceive some sort of excuse to deliver to her boss about the boat. _Uh… can't really say it was blown up by pirates now can I? Maybe if I don't call Mr. Thompson, but someone else? Someone like… Jeff! Perfect! I'll just get him to tell Mr. Thompson about our little mishap, and everything will be fine. Maybe he could even meet us along the way– Drake will probably like him, they're both pretty easygoing. Maybe if I just gloss over the details, and don't give him time to ask questions I could get by. _ She shook her head, wondering how exactly she got to where she was. Never in her life had she imagined any of the past few hours' activities ever happing outside of fiction.

_Who gets attacked by pirates in the 21__st__ century?_

Her thoughts were cut off by a man's voice on the other end of the line.

"– this is Jeff speaking, hello? Hello?"

"Uh, hi! It's Elena I've got a message for you to give to Mr. Thompson for me."

"Sure, but why don't you just talk to him yourself– he's just over-"

"Oh no no no! Uh, I mean, it's ok, I've only got so many minutes on this phone, and, uh, I've already called you." She rolled her eyes and continued to pace up and down the dock. " I was just, uh… I just wanted to update you on a slight change of plan. I–"

"Isn't that what email is for?" He chuckled lightly, " I thought there was something seriously wrong; you never called before."

Elena squirmed, and bit her lip slightly, "Well, actually, we've had a small," she searched for the word, "incident, with the boat."

"I know it was a little old, but what kind of–"

"It sank, but–"

"SANK? What do you mean sank?"

Elena held the phone from her ear while she waited for Jeff to settle down. Elena fidgeted with the hem of her shirt. Thankfully she had decided to slip the wetsuit over her clothes, instead of over her swimsuit, like she usually did. It certainly wasn't her favourite outfit, or the newest, but it was pretty comfy. Given the fact that she wasn't likely to find any woman's clothes here, and would have to wear the same outfit for the duration of the expedition, she figured clothes she had on were perfect.

When she heard Jeff's voice return to a normal pitch, she brought the receiver back up to her ear.

"I understand, you have some concerns, but I think I'm onto something really big here. Like story of the year big!" She noticed that Nathan and Sully were looking over at her from inside the boat with curiosity, and she waved at little, smiling nervously. "See if you can get here, I'll probably need some help with the filming."

Jeff sighed heavily on the other line, "I dunno, I doubt Mr. Thompson will let me go. I'm supposed to leave for Afghanistan next week so–"

"Just, ask him anyway Jeff. Please?" She pursed her lips, holding her breath for his answer.

"Fine. I'll ask– but I doubt he'll let me." Jeff paused for a minute, and Elena had thought that she had lost the signal. "Do you trust him Elena?" His tone oddly protective.

She turned looking at the two seasoned explorers conspiring in the boat, huddled around something on the table. She turned back, taking a few paces away from them, just in case they heard, "Of course not."

Sully squinted in the sunlight, looking at Nate incredulously, "El goddamn Dorado!" He chuckled slightly as he took in what he had just heard.

Nate smiled, flipping through the pages of the journal again. "Yeah, but there's only one problem." He fingered through the pages, holding the journal sideways by one end, "The last page is missing."

Sully eyed the torn edge with disappointment in his eyes. "So what do we do?"

Nate just shook his head, and stepped closer to Sully, lowering his voice further, "This is it Sully– the real thing."

They both turned slightly at the sound of Elena's voice, sadness in Nate's eyes, and caution in Sully's. Both knew what they would have to do, but Nate was regretting the decision he would have to make.

"The girl can handle a gun Sully– she saved my ass back there," he pleaded.

"Come on kid–it's not like I want to do this either– but it's got to be done.

Nate turned away from the window, focusing on the journal's page that lay in front of him on the table.

Elena had just managed to convince Jeff to break the news to her boss when she heard the rev of a boat motor. She shipped her gaze around to see Sully and Nathan drive off, marooning her on the dock.

_Those bastards! _

"Hey! Come back here!" She yelled, running in vain to the end of the dock, helpless to stop the retreating form of the boat.

_How the fuck did I not see that coming?_


	6. Playing Detective

Paste your document here...

**Thank you so so so so so much to all of you who have waited so patiently for this update– I am mad at myself that it took this long! In case you are wondering, (to those who don't already know), I have been in China for the past 3 weeks, and I wasn't able to bring my laptop. However, I offer you TWO new chapters for your viewing pleasure. :P Please accept them, and don't eat me, oh might readers XD**

**Recently, while I was playing through, I noticed something strange, and kudos if anyone else noticed this before me; Elena gives the gun, (that Drake gave her to shoot pirates with), back to Nate before they abandon her on the dock, right? So how does she "rescue" Nate after they shoot Sully, with the gun that Nate gave her, (he says something like, oh good, you still got it, or something like that)… Twilight zone music. **

**Read, review, repeat!**

**Naughty Dog owns, not me :)**

Elena paced around the end of the dock, taking a full five minutes to calm herself enough so to get a grasp on the situation.

_Stranded. They left me fucking stranded on this island! God, I don't even know where it is- I didn't think to look at their map! Godammit!_

She punctuated her sentence by kicking at a chipped board, knocking a fragment off, and into the water. She sat down, not caring that the boards were wet and probably mouldy from the constant damp, tropical climate. She grabbed the phone again, redialling Jeff's number.

Her fingers tapped nervously against the boards, "Come on, come on, pick up already!" She stood up, growing impatient, and proceeded to explore her surroundings. After 3 unsuccessful attempts, the third of which being a signal problem, she decided that the only she was getting off this rock, was by her own wit.

She had scoured the surrounding area, coming up with a concealed boat, smaller than the one Sully and Nate had driven off in, but upon inspection, in excellent condition. More importantly, it had a full tank of gas.

_Must have been a back up_. She mused.

She had also procured a modest amount of supplies, and a map of the island. Although from the angle she had seen in the sky, it appeared to be a deserted island, it actually was the smaller of several islands. The largest of which had a bar that was frequented by Mr. Sullivan. Elena had deduced this by the copious bar tab slips lying around the interior of the dwelling. She loaded the small boat with her modest supplies, and cast off for the bar.

_My best shot is to hope that somehow, somebody knows where the hell Nate or Sully just sailed off to. God, that's a long shot. I guess it's the only choice I have right now. No way in hell am I spending the night in those tiki huts all alone!_

After a short drive, Elena pulled in to a large bay, manoeuvring clumsily to the docks. Several marina employees helped tug the boat into place. Elena muttered an embarrassed 'thank you' to the men, and made her way, camera in tow, to the _Marinero Peligrosoi _bar. As she paced up the dusty gravel path, she noticed a group of suspicious men leaving the bar, and making their way to the docks. Elena's thoughts darted to the numerous military-grade dinghies docked at the port, hoping it was mere coincidednce, and not anything malicious. _That, and the fact that I don't really have papers, or am permitted to be here legally. Next time I see Drake, I swear…_

She strode through the doors, comforted in the fact that the bar was fairly busy. _I sure hope I don't have to canvas the entire Island before I find where they went. Guess the best place to start, is the bartender. He might be able to tell me something about Sully's habits. I can only hope that there might be some clue for me. _

"What'll it be, miss?" A kind-faced, middle-aged man asked, resting his hands easily on the counter. 

She cleared her throat, "Information. I'm wondering if you could tell me anything about a Victor Sullivan? Goes by Sully for short."

A flicker passed the man's expression, "He in any trouble? Has been around in a while."

_Well this is going nowhere fast. Think, think! What can I ask that'll be helpful?_

"Okay, any regulars that might know?"

He nodded, "Just missed him actually. Guy comes in here a lot. Goes by the name of Gabriel Roman. Come to think of it, a few days ago, I saw 'em having a conversation, right over there." He pointed to an empty table.

Elena perked up, "And you said, I just missed him?"

The man nodded, "If you hurry, you might be able to catch him."

"Thanks! You've been a big help." Elena said, hurrying out of the bar before he had time to inquire as to why she was looking for Sully.

Elena sprinted back to the docks, praying she wasn't too late to talk to this "Gabriel". Her shoes skidded into the gravel when she saw that they were still on the docks, several boats manoeuvring out of the docking slips. But what made her stop, were the semi-automatic weapons slung across the backs of several men, all of which standing near two men dressed in civilian clothing.

_Woah… what the hell is this? Are they private security? I don't recognize their uniforms if they're army or navy. _Her eyes scanned the two men once more, _One of them has got to be Gabriel. Doesn't look like he'll want to chat though, I'm gonna have to do this the hard way. _

She crept around the perimeter, keeping low to the ground, the large leafed plants keeping her well out of sight. She waited until the last boat had cleared the reefs, and was slowly making its way out into the open ocean. She sprinted over the her boat, grateful for its small size. She started the engine up, wincing at the loudness of the motor. She breathed a silent prayer, and began backing out of the slip, anxious to catch up to the convoy speeding away ahead of her.

_Come on Elena, this is our only shot!_

She managed to clear the reefs with only a few minor scrapes to the hull, however, as this wasn't her boat, but most likely Sully's or Nate's, she almost felt bad for not dinging it up a little bit more.

She kept back, as far as possible without the risk of losing sight of the other boats. After about an hour, Elena noticed that her legs and arms were shaky, feeling the effects of chasing down a sketchy group of men finally getting to her.

_I wonder where this guy is going. Shit. Did I really just spend all this time following around some guy because he might have answers for me? _ She sighed heavily, groaning at her stupidity. With her face in her hands, she nearly missed the sight of land crawl onto the horizon.

Her mind reeled when she saw the mountainous terrain come into view. Her eyes gaped even more so, as she saw how close her boat was getting to Gabriel and his men's. She eased up on the gas, dropping anchor nearby.

_I might as well keep up the charade. Maybe if I can get close enough, I can figure out why the hell we stopped here. _

She deftly slipped into a spare wetsuit she had found on-land, zipping up the back with a grumble. It wasn't quite her size– most likely suited for a man. However, she put the complaints aside, hurrying as she saw some of the men pulling up closer to the reef's edge, looking for a way into the bay, and onto the beach. She opened a box in a nearby compartment, a walnut-handled pistol lay inside, its barrel gleaming in the sunlight. _ Never know… although, it's not like I'd shoot anyone. Except for those pirates… how the hell am I gonna get out of that? _She shook her head, trying, by force, to focus. _No, not now Elena. Now we need to swim over there, quickly and quietly before they notice. Although with the exception of their walking arsenal and aviator-sunglass-wearing thugs, there's nothing lethal about this Gabriel, whichever one he is. _

She grabbed her camera, slipping it into a loop on her belt, and dove into the clear water. Thankfully for Elena, the sun was working in her favor; the normally crystal clear water was reflecting the setting sun in it. Based on the angle she was swimming on, none of the men in the boats would detect her, as long as she stayed underwater.

Slowly, carefully, she made her way over to the side of a boat. She surfaced, straining against panting as her lungs burned. She risked a glance up at the side, not able to see the deck. She did, however, manage to pick up on the middle of a conversation.

"–some fucking treasure. I don't even give a shit if it's here or not. If it's not, we leave, or pop one in his sorry ass. If it's still here," his voice paused, a low chuckle resonated from the other man, obviously something was funny, "we kill Sullivan anyways, and take the treasure from him, and that asshole Drake."

Elena smirked despite the morbid news, _Well. Thank you blabbermouth! Now I just have to make sure I get to Drake and Sully before these idiots do. How in the hell did they figure out where Sully and Nate went though? Guess that'll have to wait until later. _

Elena surfaced along the side of the island, breathing heavily after a series of long underwater periods. She dragged herself out of the water, flopping onto into the shoreline foliage as her limbs burned with want for air. After a brief moment, she shimmied out of her wetsuit, squeezing out he hair as best as she could. Unfortunately, the awkward fit of the wetsuit had soaked her clothes, leaving only a few spots of dryness. She hurried into the foliage, tossing the wetsuit into a large clump of bushes, kicking it away from view. She wiped her hands on her pants as she surveyed her surroundings. A few hundred meters to her left were the makeshift docks, with a sizable amount of machine-gun toting guards. She frowned,

_Obviously not that way… _Her eyes scanned the ground; dry dirt interrupted the carpet of green, telltale signs of human activity– a path leading to Drake. _There's plenty of footprints, so I'll at least have a trail to follow, however, looks like I'll have to circle around and hope they have fewer guards on the other side. _

She adjusted her clothes, wishing she had worn something longer than her shorts as she began climbing her way into the dense vegetation.

Elena thrashed through the leaves, falling out into the open after what seemed like days of hiking. Her clothes had remained hopelessly wet as the large leaves of the forest had been just as wet as her clothes started out. She spat a few times, trying to get the taste of spider web out of her mouth, swearing to herself quietly. She pulled at the hair that lay plastered against her face, pulling a few strands that had managed to find their way into her mouth. Her whole body was marked with patches of the earthy soil, her mucky knees and elbows bearing the brunt of a few falls. She let out a frustrated sigh, brushing herself off as best as she could, under the circumstances. Her fingers travelled over her legs, peeling a few leaves that stuck to her.

_Okay, that was fun and all, but where the hell is the trail?_

She looked around quickly, not wanting to waste any more time. Luckily, a faint path stood out against the natural surroundings; from the looks of it, it appeared to head inland, which Elena supposed could only be a good thing. She stretched out her limbs, checked on how her camera was doing, and headed off once more.

* * *

Drake stood, perched on a rather small rock ledge, calculating his jump. He glanced down at the speck of Hawaiian T-shirt that he supposed was Sully, and muttered to himself about always getting into situations like this. The waterfalls around him crashed violently, the droplets of falling water pounding against the craggy rocks below.

_Great… nice subtle image there, Mother Nature. _

He managed to jump to the next ledge, breathing shakily as his foot faltered against the rock, bits of shale sliding off, tumbling down below him.

"Right… don't look down. Don'tlookdowndon'tlookdown…"

He continued sliding across the cliff, his boots hardly making contact. His arms began to burn as they took the brunt of the strain, as he couldn't trust the rock to hold under his weight. After a few long, tense minutes, he finally touched down on the metal of the boat.

"How'ya doin' up there, kid?" Sully inquired, his cigar fixed firmly between his lips.

"Juuuust great Sully. You know… you should join me up here–" his foot slipped on a slimy piece of moss, "Woaahhhh!"

He took a moment to stabilize himself, arms flailing wildly. After regaining his balance, he looked down at Sully, "It's a really party." He flashed an uneasy smile that matched his voice.

"Jeeze Nate! Careful!"

"I know, I know. Thanks mom."

Sully rolled his eyes, "If you need me, I'll be down here, having a nice long chat with the insides of my eyelids."

"Always so helpful, aren'tcha Sully." Nate smiled, shaking his head as he walked towards the hatch of the submarine.

_Here we go_…

* * *

Elena paused for a moment, her breathing laboured and heavy as se sank down to her knees in front of a small creek. She wiped her forehead, her hand coming back slick with sweat. After a few moments, she dunked her hands in the water, splashing herself off. She smiled blissfully as the cold water dripped over her features, leaving behind trenches of dirt where the droplets had travelled down her face. She glanced around quickly, making sure she wouldn't be seen, and then dunked her face into the refreshing water. She scrubbed off the mud and sweat that had built up, sighing contentedly as she dried off her face as best as she could with her clean hands. She repeated the process for her legs and arms, finally feeling human again.

She sat behind a large fern, and inspected the video camera. She turned it on, and placed it on a rock, angled up to her.

"Uh… Hi! O.k. so, I'm on some island near the dive site, looking for my two lovely companions." Her voice dripped sarcastically. "Oh– it's almost 19:00 hours, and still no sign of either one of them. I did manage to find a local tip that led me here. But I've got more problems." The camera shifted off of the rock, falling over onto its side.

"Crap…" Elena muttered, replacing back on its perch.

"As I was saying," her face slightly flushed with annoyance, " As I was leaving, I ended up following a convoy of what looks like some sort of private military forces. They were the ones who led me here." She paused to tuck a stray section of bangs behind her ear, " Aaand now I've been trudging through jungle for almost an hour, and I've still yet to f–"

Her entry was cut short by the sound of heavy footsteps approaching.

_Shit! I hope that's Nate!"_

She snatched her camera up, turning it off as she huddled into the fern.

Elena winced as she heard just how many men were trudging along the path on the other side of her cover. She gingerly peeked through the gaps in the leaves, eyes growing wide as she saw their menacing weapons.

She turned back, clutching her camera closer to her chest, closing her eyes as she prayed they would move along quickly. After a pulse pounding few minutes, she dared to turn around, eyes fluttering in relief, as they seemed to have moved on. As she watched the foliage whiffle slightly from their movements, Elena realized that – despite the danger– this was probably her best chance to find Nathan and Sully. She sighed heavily as she rose to her feet, brushing at some dirt on her pants. She set her jaw and hurried after the men, camera in tow.

In all honesty, I promise new chapters will be up veeeeeery frequently :P


	7. Between a Rock and a Wet Place

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**Hey all! Thanks for sticking around! I appreciate all of your feedback and support – you guys drive the story, after all ;p**

**I know that the last few chapters haven't been too interesting, but as I am covering the entirety, (more or less) of the game, it is necessary! I promise in this chapter there will be some more DrakexElena for you ;) so stick around, read, review, and repeat. 3**

**Naughty Dog owns everything, **

**Except my lingering shame of not updating frequently…**

**Enjoy!**

Elena crouched near a large, leafy bush as she strained to hear over the sound of her laboured breathing. She swatted at a few persistent mosquitoes that seemed to have followed her the entire time. She peeked through the leaves of the bush, parting them with her hands slowly. She had followed Gabriel's men for the past half-hour, wandering around in seemingly random directions. However, soon Elena was able to make out something in the distance; something that appeared to be a small waterfall by the looks of things. However, it wasn't the water that caught her immediate attention.

_Is that… is that what I think it is?! How the hell does a U-boat wind up out here!_

She gawked at the hulking mass of rusted metal, its frame silhouetted in a golden-red against the setting sun. Her attention snapped back to the men however, as she heard them approaching the boat, and murmuring something she couldn't quite hear. She didn't need to hear to know that they had reached their destination as her ears picked up on the sound of each soldier cocking his weapon.

_Shit… I hope Nate and Sully know what there up against…_

She crept forward slowly, her footsteps tentative in an effort to remain undetected. Her breathing was guarded as she followed the group, catching her lip between her teeth in concentration. Her hands turned numb as she saw Sully seated in front of the submarine– oblivious to the impending danger.

Elena wished she could let him know somehow, but realized that if she were to warn him somehow, it would only put both of them in danger.

_My best bet is to wait and hope that Nate's somewhere nearby…_

* * *

Victor Sullivan reclined against several small rocks, eyes closed, arms behind his head. The remnants of his cigar lay smouldering faintly on the ground.

_Kid's sure taking his time in there… but damned if I'd crawl through one of those things. _

A distant splash snapped Sully's attention, his eyes opening quickly to see if the noise was Nate finally finished. Instead, he was greeted by an extremely unpleasant sight.

"Well, if it isn't Mr. Sullivan himself."

"Gabriel" Sully scowled.

Gabriel's face twisted into a cruel smile, "You've been quite the man to catch, Victor. Although, I suppose with the right motivation, anything is possible."

A stern-faced man approached Gabriel, his weapon held at the ready, "Where's Drake? I thought they were working together."

Gabriel turned back to Sully, "I don't suppose you've met my friend, Mr. Navarro."

Sully regarded both men with a condescending expression, his lips pursed in frustration. "What is all of this about, Gabriel?"

"All in good time, Victor." He chuckled, indicating with his gun for Sully to stand, "Although I am somewhat surprised that you wouldn't know." His eyes glinted mockingly, "You did tell me after all."

Sully felt guilt punch into him as he realized what Gabriel meant.

"Aw hell…"

* * *

Elena had remained behind the furthest group of soldiers, the majority of them had fallen in to surround Sully and the other two men. She held her camera up, using the zoom to serve as binoculars.

"Oh Sully…" She felt dread creep into her stomach as she saw Sully raising his hands defensively, talking with one of the men, guessing that he was Gabriel Roman. She panned around, searching hopefully that Nate would be nearby. She caught some ripples in the water, zooming in close enough to see that it was in fact Nate, swimming quickly towards the shore. Although she should have been pleased that she had found them, all she felt was worried, as Nate was swimming right towards Gabriel and his men.

* * *

Nate heaved himself up on the edge of the river, his breath coming in gasps and sputters. The colour drained from his face as he was greeted by machine guns pointed in his face. He glanced at Sully who was standing further away, his face penitent and distressed.

"Hello Mr. Drake." Said a man dressed in rather improper clothes for someone traipsing through the rainforest.

Nate slapped away an arm offered to help him out, muttering to himself in annoyance. The man aimed his gun at Drake, and encouraged him to stand beside Sully with his arms up.

"Nice going Sully." Nate murmured.

"Hey, it wasn't entirely my fault. How was I supposed to know they would follow us."

Nate shot him an exasperated look, "What was that about not attracting every scumbag–"

"That's enough you two." Roman said, his face void of amusement.

Nate frowned, "Alright, I guess I'll ask the obvious question, what'd you want with us?"

The older man chuckled, "That should be rather obvious…" he paused, his expression in mock surprise, "unless your dear friend hasn't told about his lack of discretion."

Nate eyed Sully with sad eyes, "Sully…"

Gabriel turned his back to them, taking a few steps, "He kept going on about the greatest find of your career, something about," he paused, turning back around, sneering, "El Dorado."

* * *

Elena couldn't sit still, her body burned to intervene, to do something other than just sitting there. In her immediate vicinity, there were only three guards, however, that was still more than she would be able to take out before the others noticed her, and the entire convoy would march in, guns blazing. No, that would do any good. She'd have to sneak in, but then what?

_Fuck this! If I stay here, I'm not helping, but if I try to do something, I'd also be not helping. Even if I was to sneak in, what then? Oh, excuse me, I'll just be taking these two knuckleheads if you don't mind, please don't let me interrupt. _

She sighed in frustration, her hand over her face.

_What the hell to do…_

* * *

"Now, why don't you hand over what you found in there, Mr. Drake."

Nate made an exasperated noise, and begrudgingly took out the crumpled map he had found.

"A Kriegsmarine map?" Navarro inquired, "What were the Germans doing all the way in here?"

Sully now had the chance to point out the obvious, "They were after El Dorado too, genius."

Navarro's face clouded dangerously, the grip on his gun tightening.

"Settle down there pal," Nate simpered, "looks like you're gonna burst a blood vessel."

Gabriel intervened before things could escalate any further, "That's enough Atoq. There's no reason why we can't be civil."

Nate scoffed, "That's right Navarro, listen to your master. That's a good boy."

Navarro lunged, striking Nate across the cheek with his gun.

Nate stumbled slightly, blinking back the stinging spreading across his face. He massaged his jaw with his hand, wiping at the fresh blood spilling out over his cheekbone. "Yeesh, looks like your dog needs a tighter leash, Gabriel."

Two of his men pulled Navarro back to stand him behind Gabriel.

"Now then, it's been a pleasure doing business with you boys, but I do believe it's time for your payment." He pointed his gun at Nate's chest.

"Whoa there, Gabriel," Sully held up his hands defensively, his brow furrowed in worry, "what happened to being civil?" he forced a smile.

"I'm afraid you've exhausted that option." His eyes cold and determined.

Elena suppressed a gasp as she saw Gabriel point his gun at Nate's chest point blank. Her fingers clenched against the camera, her eyes wide in distress. In the distance she watched, horrified as Gabriel suddenly switch targets; pulling the trigger and hitting Sully square in the chest.

All of her anger at Nathan had been washed away with icy dread, her only thoughts driving her to rush over and help. She ignored the small voice reminding her of the risk, pushing it aside easily. Her legs pumped quickly, her eyes threatening to spill the tears heavy on her waterline. She had just gotten out of the tree line when a massive explosion rocked the area, knocking her and the guards, as well as the others further ahead over. She stumbled, landing roughly on her elbows, spinning over onto her back frantically, in an attempt to protect the camera.

"Ohhh shit…" she winced slightly, wiping away some loose dirt that had covered her elbow, the raw skin underneath it an angry red.

She stood up uneasily, trying to ignore the slight ringing in her ears.

_What the hell just happened down there? Was that a bomb? Shit… maybe there were still live torpedoes in that rust bucket._

She watched as the guards in front of her got up, shaking their heads slightly at the ringing they too felt behind their eyes. Elena grabbed her gun, ready to put it to use again, when she saw someone sprinting away from further ahead.

"Nate" she whispered fervently.

_Time for a change of plan_…

She watched him run for a moment, figuring out where exactly he was going, then ran off back into the brush, hurrying in order to intercept him.

* * *

Nate ran– it was the only thing he could do right now. His legs pumped faster and faster, carrying him away from where his oldest friend lay bleeding. He cursed himself, and Gabriel.

_When I ever catch that piece of shit…_

He felt numb, the realisation of what had just occurred sending a blood chilling ripple through his body. The guilt of it all punching through him roughly, causing his stride to falter slightly. His eyes closed for a brief moment, eyelids squeezing tight, trying to block the image out of his mind, but failing. Did he even want to after all? Sully had been the father he never had, and now he had sacrificed himself. Nate felt like throwing up when he thought about Sully's body laying there for animals to gnaw at, rotting away to leave a disfigured skeleton much like the ones they had both trampled on earlier today.

His thoughts ran, heavy with despair. He ran ignorant to the bullets whizzing past his head, his body. He hardly flinched as he felt one graze his arm, merely nicking his shirt, mildly scraping his arm. All he could think about was what that bastard Gabriel had done.

He shook his head violently, _No… those thoughts aren't going to help me now. Sully's gone, and right now, I need a new plan._ A tattoo of machine gun fire echoed around him, startling him to run faster. He felt the blood from his one arm drip slightly, trickling down. Panic replaced the numbness, his adrenaline beginning to run short. He knew he couldn't keep running this fast for much longer.

_ First priority is getting the hell out of here, and putting as much distance as possible between gun-happy Gabriel and me. But where the hell am I going to go? For all I know, I'm running further inland. _

He scowled as he heard more soldiers closing in on him.

"Ohhh shit!"

He was so occupied with these thoughts, that he almost didn't see Elena until he ran into her.

* * *

"Aww fuck!"

"Oww! What the hell?" Elena rubbed her head, squinting angrily with one eye, the other closed in pain. Her one arm held out to steady herself.

Nate was hunched over, panting as he rested his hands on his knees. "Jeeze, watch where you're going!" His head snapped up suddenly in realization, "Elena?!"

"Thought you could just leave me on the docks, hmm?" She scoffed, unsure of whether to be glad she had found him, or angry at him.

"Well in all honesty, I didn't expect you to be able to find me… after all you are–"

Elena's fist cut him off.

"Shit! Jeeze woman, what did I say?" Nate groaned, running his hand along his jaw, which already stung from being hit with Navarro's gun.

"I think you know perfectly well, Drake. You didn't honestly–"

Nate had heard the soldiers approaching over her arguing, and upon realizing there wasn't time to explain, he grabbed her, spun her around, and pressed her back up against a large rock cliff off to the side of the path. He only hoped that they would be far enough in that the soldiers would continue running past, and not notice them hiding.

Elena' back hit the wall rather roughly, and for a moment, her thoughts spun, trying to figure just what the hell had just happened. For some reason, she had gone from lecturing Drake with a finely articulated argument, to being slammed up against a rock wall, with said man pressed up against her. A less rational part of her brain was wondering if perhaps Nate had some romantic motive in mind.

She realized, as she too heard the approaching voices and footsteps, that he had merely done it for protection. But damned if she didn't feel turned on by it. His chest was still heaving from his dead sprint, his arms raised on either side of her head, keeping her from moving away. She could feel each rapid rise and fall of his chest, the broad planes of his pectorals pressed against her breasts in an infuriating rhythm that reminded Elena of other circumstances in which she might feel the same thing.

_Dammit. _

She inhaled deeply–another mistake– as she took in the faint scent of his warm breath that came in pants across her features. The earthy fragrance of the river water and dirt, mingled with his own masculine scent. She felt warmth creep across her cheeks, and was glad that Nate had his head turned slightly away from her, his chin resting over her shoulder, yet not quite touching.

Elena fidgeted against the rock, her hips tilted slightly forward to graze his. Elena's eyes widened, shocked at what she had just done. She didn't feel altogether horrified when she heard the hitch in Nate's breath, his fingers clenched for a brief moment against the rock.

Elena lifted her lips to his ear, whispering a quiet "Sorry".

Nate closed his eyes, trying not to imagine other things that Elena might whisper to him, when they were alone, bodies pressed against each other like they were now.

"It's okay." He panted back, his nose brushed softly against her cheek. Feeling brazen, he shifted his stance, so his hips were now pressed against hers. He smirked to himself as he felt Elena's breathing stutter against his chest. He might not have noticed it, as she managed to keep it silent, however, as her chest was flush to his, he could even feel just how fast her heart was beating.

Elena tilted her head up slightly, eyes lifting slowly to study Nate's face. The smudges of dirt, his hair and face still wet from his swim. She closed her eyes for a moment, realizing the reason as to why she felt so warm and damp everywhere.

_Of course, he's still wet from his swim. Aaaand he's pressed up against me. I thought I was getting wet… er… I suppose I should specify in what way, but who am I kidding? Even if he was dry I'd still be wet. _

Elena mentally rolled her eyes at her quip.

She opened her eyes to see Nathan staring down at her, his eyes held an emotion that Elena couldn't quite pin down. She traced a rivulet of water that had ran down his face, her finger stopping before it touched the blossoming wound on his cheek.

Both gazed at each other for what seemed to be a lengthy time, both slowly piecing together what the other was thinking. How Elena's eyes flicked down to his lips, then back to his eyes. How his one arm slid down slowly to rest near her hip; his thumb slowly snaking over her hip, rubbing it softly.

Her eyelids softly fluttered, slipping to blanket her gaze on his lips.

Nathan leaned in slowly, his eyes tracing her full lips, a twinge running down his spine, nestling in his lower abdomen, spreading further to where their bodies connected.

He cleared his throat abruptly, quickly stepping away from Elena, clenching his fists in frustration.

_Now is not the time for this…shit. Why do I have to be the responsible one?_

Elena opened her eyes, feeling somewhat rejected and embarrassed. She bit her lip reprimandingly, moving away from the rock to join Nate.

He inhaled, trying to figure out where to go from there, "Elena, do you still have that gun I gave you?"

She smiled slightly, removing it from the holster, "Here."

He smirked at her, "That'a girl! Now come on, it's time to get the hell off of this island!"

"Amen to that!"

Elena fell in behind Nate as they quickly scampered over to the path.

"You still owe me one from before. Two, actually, if you count leaving me behind, and me saving your ass."

Nate turned to wink at her, "You have to admit though, it is an ass worth saving though."

Elena groaned, rolling her eyes. However, behind his teasing, she couldn't help but agree.

"Now… how the hell do we get out of here?"

Elena pointed to several guards standing at the mouth of a cave, "How 'bout we ask these guys?" her mouth twisting into a mischievous smile.

Nate check the ammo in the gun, then cocked it with determination, "Ladies first."

Elena smiled, "In that case, shouldn't you be leading?"

Nate groaned as he trotted in front of her, his gun ready as they approached the guards, hitting the furthest one right in the head, "I believe this can count as payback for leaving you behind."

Elena fell in behind him, squatting behind cover, "I'll think about it."


End file.
